JK Rowling's The Casual Vacancy to become HBO series

JK Rowling's first post-Potter novel is moving ahead as a
television mini-series, with Game of Thrones network HBO
now joint-producing the series alongside the BBC.

HBO's involvement in the adaptation of The Casual
Vacancy brings it one step closer to screen, with the
production now slated for three one-hour episodes to be aired later
in 2014. HBO will have global distribution rights, excluding the UK
where the BBC retains rights (we pay a license fee for a reason,
after all). The involvement of the American studio makes some sense
-- it's owned by Time Warner, which enjoyed a fruitful partnership
with Rowling in adapting Harry Potter from books to $7.7bn in cold,
hard cash.

The Casual Vacancy was Rowling's first adult-oriented
novel, centred on the fictional rural town of Pagford. A quaint
idyll, its charming facade hides the murky secrets and scandals of
its residents -- all of which are revealed in the wake of Parish
Councillor Barry Fairbrother's death. With themes of class warfare,
domestic abuse, explicit drug use, and plenty of sex, the book is a
far cry from the magic of Hogwarts. It was first published on 27
September 2012, and although critical reception was mixed, it still topped bestseller lists. Unsurprisingly, given the
author's success, the BBC's adaptation was announced a mere
three months later. However, production seemed to stall until
earlier this month, when a casting call for some of the younger characters
surfaced.

Sarah Phelps,
playwright and writer on British soap Eastenders, has
adapted the book for screen, and episodes will be helmed by In the
Flesh director Johnny Campbell. Paul Trijbits, Rick
Senat and Rowling herself will executive produce the
mini-series.

The Casual Vacancy will air on BBC One in the UK and
HBO in the US in late 2014.